Font ResizeBELLOWS FALLS - The municipal manager used part of Tuesday's meeting to inform the Rockingham Selectboard that the number of unlicensed dogs in the area has dwindled significantly since the last time the issue was discussed at a meeting.
Timothy Cullenen said there are now fewer than 40 canines without proper licensure - down from 137, which was the figure in early June according to Town Clerk Doreen Aldrich. The announcement was met with pleasure from the Selectboard members.
"Letters and newspaper articles will do a lot of good sometimes," he said. The municipal manager said the town contracted Windham County Sheriff Keith Clark to pound the pavement in Rockingham and ensure dogs are properly licensed. Clark has been going around to check in with dog owners to determine if their pet is still alive. If the animal has not died since last year, its owner is likely issued a fee.
"(The Sheriff's Department is) prepared to go pursue the last 40 or so," Cullenen told the Selectboard.
"We hope they'll be out knocking on doors sometime next week. They will be handdelivering a letter and a fine that (dog owners) need to pay and hopefully that will generate some interest as well."
Earlier in the meeting, the Selectboard voted to accept McCullough Crushing's bid to crush approximately 3,000 to 4,000 cubic yards of asphalt/gravel from the Rockingham Town Pit. McCullough Crushing's bid - which was recommended by Cullenen's office - was at
McCullough Crushing, based in Montpelier, also was awarded a bid for crushing at Brockways Mills Road Pit, also known as Wheeler Pit. The company's bid was the lowest, at $48,520.
In other business:
- As part of the manager's report, Cullenen said the Bridge Street Bridge project will begin soon.
Cullenen said his office has received 25 proposals for the reconstruction of the village's website. He said proposals came from all over the United States and Canada.
"There is a wide range of experience and a wide range of prices and it's to be easily early August before I'm even going to be in a position to (trim down a shorter list)," he told the Selectboard.
Cullenen said the Bellows Falls Waypoint Center is now open and currently operating on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. He said volunteers are still needed in order to have the center open on Wednesdays and Sundays.
- Cullenen gave the updates on the Worrall and Bartonsville covered bridges.
He said the Worrall Covered Bridge, which was severely damaged during Tropical Storm Irene, has been reopened. He said there wasn't much to say about the Bartonsville Covered Bridge, which was destroyed in the storm.
"I know that Phil Pierce (an engineer from Clough Harbour Associates) has been meeting with the contractor and suppliers to work on getting materials in order," Cullenen said. CHA was approved by the Selectboard for construction services at a cost not to exceed $27,000.
- The Selectboard approved of the agreement between Rockingham and Bellows Falls in regards to the Wells Street Playground.
